In an airplane accident in Brazil, Chinese architect Yu Kongjian also perished

Brasília - In a small plane crash in Brazil, four people have died, including Chinese architect Yu Kongjian. This was reported by the AP agency, referencing a statement from Brazilian Vice President Geraldo Alckmin. The Brazilian server G1 reported that among the victims are also two Brazilian documentarians and the pilot of the plane.

A military fire department was called to the accident on Tuesday at around 8:10 PM local time (02:10 CEST today). The search and rescue operation lasted approximately nine hours. The incident occurred as the pilot attempted to land on a farm in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul in the central-western part of the country, where the Pantanal wetlands are located. It is not yet clear what caused the crash.

Chinese architect Yu Kongjian was the creator and proponent of the concept of so-called "sponge cities," aimed at mitigating the impacts of climate change and creating settlements resilient to heavy storms. His concept involves creating large areas in city centers designed to retain water instead of draining it, which is intended to protect cities from flooding. This concept has been adopted not only by Chinese cities but also by some cities in the USA and Russia, according to Reuters.

The Chinese architect and Brazilian filmmakers were part of a team that was filming a documentary about the Pantanal wetlands, which are the largest tropical wetlands in the world.

In an interview with AP in 2022, Yu Kongjian criticized a large portion of modern Asian infrastructure for being built on principles imported from Europe. According to him, these principles were not suitable for the monsoon climate that prevails in most of Asia.